Machine for washing



(N0 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. E. & W. J. GEE. MACHINE FOR WASHING, SGRUBBING, AND CLEANING FLOORS.

No. 557,877. Patented Mar. 31,- 1896.

(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. E. & W. J. GEE.

v MACHINE FOR WASHING, SGRUBBING, AND CLEANING FLOORS. No. 557,377. HPatented Mar.31,1896.

A MAMA WAAAAIF UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES EDWIN GEE AND WILLIAM JOHN GEE, OF MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR WASHING, SCRUBBING, AND CLEANING FLOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,377, dated March31, 1896.

Application filed $eptember 16, 1895. Serial No. 562,694. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES EDWIN GEE and WILLIAM JOHN GEE, subjects ofthe Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Middlesbrough, inthe county of York, England, have invented certain new andusefulImprovements in a Portable Machine for WVashing, Scrubbing, and CleaningFloors; and We do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to a machine for washing, scrubbing, and cleaningfloors, the object in view being to construct a machine which isportable by hand-power and which carries with it the water or cleansingagent for washing the fioor, the means for effectually applying thecleansing agent, and in combination with these the means to swab up andcollect the slop and dirt, leaving the floor in a condition in which itcan be left to dry inthe usual manner.

In the construction of a machine embodying our invention a general ormain frame is mounted upon wheels, the front wheels being secured to thefront axle and the rear wheels fitted to the rear axle in a mannercapable of gearing or interlocking with other parts, so that therotation of the carrier-wheels in the forward direction imparts therequisite action to the several moving parts of the machine in themanner hereinafter described; but it is to be understood that incarrying out this invention we do not limit ourselves to the precisemeans shown in the accompanying drawings for operating the mechanism, asit will be readily seen how such mechanism can be modified and variedaccording to the general design of the machine, but an arrangement ofmechanism constituting the several details of the machine is shown,which is to be taken as indicating what is suitable for the purposes ofour invention and with which the essential features thereof can beconveniently combined.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machineembodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 3 an end elevation.Fig. 4 represents a detail view, in

side elevation, of the two cylindrical brushes and the system supportingthem; Fig. 5, a detail view of the perforated tube for supplying waterto the brushes; Fig. 6, an end elevation of the same; Fig. 7, a detailview, in section, of the straining-roller; and Fig. 8, an end elevation,partly in section, of the same. Fig. 9 represents in side elevation oneof the driving-wheels provided with the feather-edged slots; and Fig. 10is a vertical section of the same, showing the position of the pinscarried by the pulley. Figs. 11 and 12 represent detail views of theside guard, showing the position of the spring which holds the guard incontact with the floor.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

Beneath a tank or cistern a, containing the cleansing age..1t, such asclean water, are placed the scrubbing-brushes b b rotating in contactwith the floor. The brushes b b are geared to and derive their rotationfrom the axle of the front carrier-wheels, preferablyin the reversedirection to the advance of the machine, and are furnished with rows ofbristles arranged spirally, like the blades of a lawn-mower. Asuitably-regulated discharge of water from the tank or cistern 0; issupplied to the brushes and utilized by them as the cleansing agent. Thelever c, with the hand- Wheel 0 for adjusting it, operates the system oflinks and levers shown in Fig. 4 as connected to the brushes 1) b. Thisarrangement is intended to enable the brushes to be set farther apart ornearer together, as required, and thereby adjusting the degree ofpressure with which they should be applied to the floor.

d is a tube for discharging the water onto or in front of the brushes,and is controlled by the levers d 01 A form of pipe adapted for thispurpose is illustrated both in side view and end view in Figs. 5 and 6,the part d being in the form of a cock, so that by turning the tubeabout its axis water is turned on or off.

61 is a drip-brush carried in front of the machine in contact with thefloor to promote an equal distribution of water in front of thescrubbing-brushes.

An endless towel or slop-cloth e, passing round a series of rollers f ff f, wipes the fioor behind the scrubbing-brushes, swabbing up andcollecting the slop into another tank or cistern g, The rollers by whichthe towel or slop-cloth is operated and strained derive their rotationfrom the axle of the rear wheels, which is geared to the bottom roller fand by an endless band with the upper roller f Roller f is furnishedwith tufts of bristles adapted to press the slop-cloth effectually intothe inequalities of the floor, and is preferably mounted on its axis infront of the axis of the rear carrier-wheels for the reason hereinaftergiven.

f is the straining-roller, which is shown in sectional views in Figs. 7and S suspended from adjustable hanger-bolts.

The slop is strained out of the cloth e by means of the roller f whichis driven by an endless chain, or its equivalent, from the axle of therear wheels and adjusted to its work by the set-screw and hand-wheel h7L2, so as to mangle the cloth against roller f The system of levers 75'k are arranged to adjust the bottom roller f to the floor, the radialhanger-bars Z admitting of the requisite movement for this purpose.

The slop-cloth e must be both non-elastic and absorbent, such as whenmade up of a back or frame of hemp, jute, or the like unstretehablematerial, lined or covered with a surface of wool or the like absorbentmaterial.

In combination with the above-described construction of machine, inwhich the wheels are made to drive all the moving parts, we providemeans for enabling the machine to be readily guided or turned round orto be drawn back on the rear wheels without setting the operatingmachinry in motion. The device employed to attain this end isillustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, and consists of a pin m, forced under theconstant pressure of the spring m into a slotm but the slots on beingfeatheredgedthat is, taper to nothing in one directionthe pin m can onlyinterlock the carrier-wheel to the pulley or chain wheel n in onedirection, the slots slipping past the pin in the reverse direction. Thepulley or chain wheel a is secured to the main axle, and the rearcarrier-wheels are loose, so that they will only drive the operatingmechanism in one direction and run free in the other direction. Themachine being suitably balanced is readily tilted oif the front wheelsand drawn back or turned round on the rear wheels alone, which areadvantageously larger in diameter than the front wheels to the extentshown in the drawings.

It may here be observed that the reason why the bottom slop-cloth rollerf is preferably mounted in front of the axis of the rear carrier-wheelsis that when the machine is tilted to turn it round this roller islifted clear of the floor, which prevents the slop-cloth beingdisarranged each time the machine is turned round.

All the wheels are furnished with rubber soles roughened with ridges andserrations to give an increased grip on the floor.

To confine the slop within the track covered by the machine, instead ofoozing onto the already-cleaned or adjacent parts of the floor, weprovide what are termed squeegees or slop-guards 0 extending along andin contact with the floor 011 both sides of the machine, to which theyare attached by devices constructed to apply an elastic pressure so thatthe soles of the squeegees may accommodate themselves to an unevenfloor. A device adapted for this purpose is shown in Figs. 11 and 12, inwhich a piston-and-cylinder arrangement is combined with a spiral springadjusted to the requisite pressure by a nut. The squeegees or slopguardsfollow the contour of the frame of the machine in front, but arepreferably 'curved inward at their tail ends, as shown at o o in Fig. 2.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for washing, scrubbing and cleaning floors, thecombination with a pair of cylindrical brushes rotatably mounted onshafts adapted to be adjusted vertically and horizontally by a system oflevers, a tank or reservoir mounted on the frame of the said machine andcarrying the water or other cleansing liquid, means for drawing thewater or cleansing liquid from the said tank and supplying the same tothe brushes, a second tank mounted on the framework of the said machineand affording a receptacle for dirty water, means for wiping the floorimmediately passed over by the said revolving brushes and depositing thedirty water thus taken up, in a tank, the said machine mounted on fourwheels and means for transmitting power from the wheels to the othermoving parts, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for washing, scrubbing and cleaning floors, thecombination, with a pair of cylindrical brushes rotatably mounted onshafts adapted to be adjusted vertically and horizontally by a system oflevers, a tank or reservoir .mounted above said brushes and carrying theclean water or other cleansing liquid, a horizontal perforated tubeattached to the outlet of said tank and adapted to supply the water tothe aforesaid revolving brushes, means for governing the outflow ofwater from the said tank, a second tank or reservoir mounted on theframework of the said machine and affording a receptacle for dirtywater, an endless towel passing over a series of rollers and coming incontact with the floor immediately passed over by the aforesaidrevolving brushes, means for adjusting the said endless towel to theinequalities in the floor, a straining-roller mounted on adjustablehanger-bolts and in contact with the endless towel, means for depositingthe dirty water taken up by the said towel into the receptacle suppliedtherefor, a drip-brush mounted on the front of said machine, and a pairof side guards adapted to be held in elastic contact with the floor andthe whole mounted on four wheels and means for transmitting power fromthe said wheels to the other moving parts of the machine, only when themachine is carried in a forward direction, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twoWitnesses.

I JAMES EDWIN GEE.

WVILLIAM JOHN GEE. Witnesses:

GEORGE JAMES CLARKSON, EDWARD THOMAS ELCOAT.

